Customer Reviews

Cho

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

 

Steve Tibbetts and Choying Drolma- CHO

Choying Drolma is a Buddhist nun from Nagi Gompa which is situated within the Himalayan foothills. Back in 1994 Steve Tibbetts on one of his many visits to the Nepalese kingdom recorded these nuns singing and later on, one assumes, in the comfort of his home studio recorded his guitar work over the chanting, as well as employing the services of long time percussionist Marc Anderson.

When I first received this I thought "Oh no, not enough record of Tibetan chanting." After all how much of this stuff can one listen to. In the last 12 months I had received about a dozen cd's of Tibetan chant . Most of what I had received had always been sung by men, so the first thing that made me sit up and listen was the honey sweet vocals of Choying Drolma. I had been re writing my diaries that I kept from my travels throughout India and Nepal back in 1986 and hearing the voices again brought back many good memories. What I heard was simple, honest and spiritual chanting. If you are expecting the loud and distorted guitar that has been fairly evident in a lot of Tibbett's albums you will be disappointed. Most of his guitar here is very much in the background, allowing Choying to do what she does best.Tibbett's does not dominate this recording but at the same time his presence is there. In the last weeks I have not had this off the walkman as I go to work. On more than one occasion I have fallen asleep on the bus because of the fact that it is so beautiful and peaceful to listen to.It truly is one of the most contemplative recordings to have come out in the last 12 months. According to the notes that came with this" the Tibetans do not see this style of music as folk music, but rather perceive the depth of meaning in these songs as capable of enhancing understanding and transforming ordinary experiences."

Overall this recording is well worth the price. My only complaint is it's not long enough.It clocks in at 49 minutes. Proceeds from the cd will go towards the nunnery. First purchase will be a hot water system. Cho- Rykodisc/ Hannibal HNCD 1404

 

I've heard works by Steve Tibbetts before, over the years. I don't own any of his recordings, but I've admired his work and his talents -- some of his ECM recordings might well find their way into my collection in due time. I found this cd a couple of days ago while browsing in the international section at our local, internationally legendary independent music store here in Austin, Texas (which shall remain nameless to keep the folks at Amazon happy -- they, after all, carry a lot of wonderful music, easily accessible for all...). I found three discs in the Tibetan section -- CHO being one of them. After listening to bits of all three, this is the one I took home -- I can't recall being so touched by a piece of music in a long time.

The voices on the recording are mostly those of Choying Drolma and her 'fellow' nuns from the Nagi Gompa Buddhist nunnery in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. Multi-instrumentalist Tibbetts delicately underscores the natural beauty of their songs and chants with grace and imagination -- all the while remaining in a respectfully supportive role. Too many Western artists, attempting this same project, might have overstepped -- hats off to Steve for not doing so.

I would gently offer that I have a small 'bone to pick' with a review below, which mentioned that Steve did this recording as 'a favor to the nuns', never intending it to be released to the public, the reviewer also questioning if the album 'works'. Respectfully, I would say that the album 'works' immensely well -- but I would agree that it's not something for general popular consumption. The tastes of too many listeners in the West have been numbed by the LCD (lowest common denominator) music shoved down our throats for years by commercial radio. This recording offers something far above that, creativity and cooperation by differing cultures on a whole other level. I would also like to state that I agree with the reviewer's assessment of some of Steve's work being a little jarring -- my tastes run more toward the gentler, subtler works in his catalogue, but to each his or her own.

The album shows that East and West can meet and co-exist, with respect and dignity felt and shown on both sides. There are translations supplied for four of the pieces in the booklet, as well as some very interesting and relevant background information on both the music and the school of Tibetan Buddhism from which it springs. This is one of those priceless recordings that can be enjoyed with rapt attention or in an ambient setting -- it's equally rewarding either way.

Haunting, simple and surreal, this is music that will gently but unapologetically usher you into another world. The nasal, microtonal chants of Tibetan nuns from Nagi Gompa, led by Choying Drolma, are enhanced by tasteful, sparing and somehow utterly appropriate accompaniments composed by Steve Tibbets. Instruments used include bells, simple drums, guitar, bouzouki, cymbals, cello, viola da gamba, violin and electric bass, but don't expect any funky club-like fusion act here. This music is the real thing--utterly Tibetan and utterly alien for most western ears, with the subdued and often atonal instrumentals falling quietly and respectfully in line behind the chanting nuns. According to the CD insert, "Cho" is a system of contemplative Buddhist practices based on Prajnaparamita. The literal translation of the word is "cutting", as in cutting through ego-clinging and excising demons. It took me a few listens to get used to this album, expecting the chants to be jarring and distracting, but finding them unexpectedly comforting instead. Now "Cho" is one of my favorite albums to meditate to--simultaneously down-to-earth and otherworldy. For a livelier interpretation of traditional Buddhist chants, check out the releases of the Japanese group Uttara Kuru.

Here is a great example of Tibetan music emerging from the isolated plateaus and valleys where it has been passed on from generation to generation for more than a thousand years. Choying studied with the Lama Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, one of the greatest teachers of luminous awareness meditation and this album leads us into the space in which we too can touch the existential awareness, purity and beauty that the Tibetans have preserved for us for all these centuries.

The simple harmonies of Tibetan sacred music have been designed to create energetic response patterns in the singer and the listener ... to link the visible with the invisible. The particular chants in Cho represent and mediate the surrendering of the body to "hungry ghosts" - an ancient Bonpo (shamanic) practice in which the practitioner sees through the illusion of a solid reality by recognizing the insubstantial nature of all things.

You cannot miss with this music that celebrates awareness and truth.

This is a specialty CD to be sure - Tibetan Buddhist sacred meditational melodies, performed by a Tibetan refugee with sonic support from a far-out Western composer. Some earlier reviewer commented this is 90% Choying and 10% Tibbetts, and this kept me from this wonderful recording for way too long. It is more like 100% the blessings of the ancient masters Guru Rinpoche and Machig Labdron transmitted lovingly by these two modern artists.

I've been a huge Tibbetts fan for over 15 years and especially love his wilder stuff (Exploded View, Fall of Us All, Man About a Horse). Yet what I respect most is his compositional skill and sensitivity - his understanding of the Tantric Buddhist sensibility, and his ability to weave intricate, complex and yet subtle, shifting and spacious sonic landscapes.

Here he supports Choying Drolma, a young Tibetan nun and chod practitioner (Chod, or "cutting", is a shamanic based ritual that symbolically offers one's body and mind to feed and liberate the demons of self grasping), by letting her voice and traditional melodies shine clearly. The Tibetan practice lineages are not really performance based as much as experience invoking, and so vocal style isn't emphasized - depth of feeling is. These aren't complete chod feasts, but involve snippets of the liturgy and various prayers to Guru Rinpoche (nice liner notes help with translation). Choying sometimes is recorded alone and acappella, sometimes in chorus with her fellow nuns, sometimes accompanied by their own hand drums and bells. When Tibbetts adds his touch it is in his usual style (in mellow mode) with a gentle wash of synthesizers, various percussions, and his expressive, evocative guitar (acoustic and electric) to create a sonic-scape that isn't of some ideal Himalayan place (tangible and known), but of a more real and vast inner landscape - moody, sweeping and shifting - that matches these meditative and devotional melodies.

This is simple music, and often oddly nondescript. Only later do you remember it was there, serving only to support the singers and the mood of their ancient prayers (who's melodies are rooted in the profound and deep practices of a living tradition). The recording is about this essence, and Choying is more the medium than the star here. Her voice is confident, beautiful and clear, but without a trace of flash or showmanship. Overall, the collaboration is genuine and from the heart, and that makes it a rare treat.

Chö is a lovely and important album, a rare gem in the world's treasure trove of intercultural music. While the album stands easily on its aural merit alone, what keeps hitting me is the nature of the collaboration. Not one iota of Tibetan traditional tune or text was altered during recording; Tibbett's instrumentation serves as delicate musical ornament for a thing already beautiful.

Beautiful also is the respect shown by the Wisconsin-bred Tibbetts for the music he is ornamenting. Tibbetts made certain Ani Choying was pleased with the final sound, a verdict confirmed, fittingly, by a call to Nepal on a Packer phone --that's Green Bay Packers--Go Pack!

And finally there is the bravery of Ani Choying Drolma herself who, as a young nun in a very old tradition, has taken a leap of faith that her offering of sacred songs to the wider world will be accepted by all for the compassionate gift that it is.

I love this album so much and hope you will, too.

I can't wait to receive and hear this CD; the frammis.com website which has all of Tibbett's CD's has an incredible PBS interview from 1998 with Tibbetts describing how he came about making and recording the Tibetan nuns on this album. The music and the process is simply amazing.

Here's the frammis website review:

CHOYING DROLMA and STEVE TIBBETTS Chö Over the past few years, the music of Tibetan monks has gained a massive audience, with Western listeners finding refuge from the rat race in the chants and songs of the East. Those same medicinal properties are at the core of this breathtaking collaboration between veteran Minneapolis guitar wizard Steve Tibbetts and Choying Drolma, a Buddhist nun whom Tibbetts met and recorded at a small monastery in Nepal. When Tibbetts returned home with the tape of Drolma supernatural vocals he added some instruments to the songs and sent the tape back to the nunnery as a gift, and to Rykodisc and Hannibal Records, who decided to release it. The result is "Chö" (English translation: "cutting"), a beautiful pastiche of celestial songs that evokes a tenderness, optimism and appetite for life that cuts through in any language. Tibbetts' understated instrumentation nicely complement the nuns' disciplined chants, to the point where it sounds as if they've been collaborating forever.  St. Paul Pioneer Press...

I received this CD yesterday and listened to it as I was falling asleep last night. I do not do Cho practice, but do other practices. The energy effects from listening were like those I experience during initiations into new practices or during deep meditation. I also wound up having some amazing dreams afterwards. Then today I called an old friend whose phone number I just found after several months without contact. She had only minutes to talk but told me she had just come back from a Chud retreat. Something told me to inquire further and it turns out that Chud is a different spelling and pronunciation of the Cho practice of the nuns on this CD! She explained to me that this practice is very powerful. I immediately promised to send her a copy of this CD. Do yourself a favor and send yourself a copy too. If you want music listening that is also meditation practice, there is no better choice. Of course, if you just want to listen to beautiful music, this CD should still be worth the purchase price. It really is quite lovely.

I agree with Colin R. Glassey. This is only 10% Steve Tibbetts. I'm a huge fan but I would not recommend this as an introduction. Tibbetts is of course respectful and thoughtful and although this is a brave and adventurous attempt, for me it just doesn't work all that well.

In Hollywood they say "god made it sing", but here god seemed more indifferent. Steve is way smarter than me so someday I may see the light and change my opinion but so far no.

This CD is perfect! A beautiful blend of vocals & music create a wonderful relaxed & meditative experience.